PCGA interview with Razer co-founder Min-Liang Tan

Posted on April 26th, 2012

Razer was founded in 1998 in San Diego, California by CEO Min-Liang Tan and President Robert "Razerguy" Krakoff in a tiny shared office with a couple other gamers. Today Razer has grown to hundreds of employees worldwide with offices in nine cities, including San Francisco, Hamburg, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore. The following is an interview by the PC Gaming Alliance with Min-Liang Tan, CEO of Razer:

Questions for the Interview:

Q. It’s been a little while since we last talked to Razer…and since that last interview with Min… we’ve seen the Razer/Switchblade concepts…. Anything else you’d like to share with us?

A. Since the announcement of the Razer Switchblade Concept, we have developed the Switchblade User interface which offers 10 dynamic adaptive tactile keys and a multi-touch LCD track-panel. We’ve implemented this technology across several new products such as the Razer Blade Gaming Laptop and the Star Wars: The Old Republic Gaming Keyboard.

Q. In Razer’s view… how is PC Gaming going? How are sales?

A. The PC Gaming industry has been on an incline and Razer sales are definitely following the trend. Our Sales have been reaching record numbers again this past year.

Q. What things would you like to see improved on in the PC Gaming space?

A. Razer is constantly making innovative improvements that this industry has been missing. With announcements such as our cloud based unified driver software Razer Synapse 2.0, Razer has been introducing new industry standards for the best interactive gaming experience.

Q. What regions is Razer seeing the biggest growth take place in?

A. Our growth has been increasing drastically worldwide. For instance we have been developing some tremendous partnerships in China over the past couple of years and it’s really starting to pay off.

Q. What key trends do you see occurring in PC Gaming that from a Razer perspective you feel are important?

A. How Gamers interact with and experience their games is very important. Gamers are starting to appreciate higher quality peripherals more than ever before because they can determine winning or losing. That’s why Razer loves to innovate with new and improved ways of how games are played to help gamers get the competitive edge. The Razer Switchblade User Interface was developed specifically to improve the gamers interaction with their favorite games, giving them an intuitive way of executing critical actions as well as gather more in-game information.

Q. What PC Games have you had the opportunity to try out recently?

A. Lately I have been playing Battlefield 3, Skyrim, and Modern Warefare 3.

Q. How do you see the professional gaming scene at the moment?

A. The professional e-sports scene is growing in size and popularity at an unprecedented rate. A key development in this space is how professional e-sports commentating has gotten, combined with great streaming programs, the professional gaming tournaments are getting more accessible than ever. Razer is putting a huge focus on e-sports and we have a dedicated group of people working on partner and sponsorships of the best pro gamers and teams as well as the most prestigious tournaments.

Q. How do you see the amateur gaming scene at the moment?

A. The amateur gaming scene is also growing in size and popularity as LAN and online communities are expanding and working closer with manufactures like Razer, we continue to deliver the best interactive peripherals to the mass gaming communities.

Q. Any words of wisdom you’d like to share with the PC Gaming Alliance and or our readers?

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Testimonial

We’re honored to be elected to the PC Gaming Alliance Board of Directors, said Min-Liang Tan, CEO, Razer. There is so much
synergy between Razer’s core DNA - an essence of pure commitment to improving the PC gaming experience with state-of-the-art peripherals -
and this organization’s drive to establish high standards and quality guidelines for the evolving industry at large. Both Razer and the PC
Gaming Alliance are dedicated to addressing the needs of a maturing category and its largely sophisticated audience.